


Come Out to Socialize

by GAvillain



Category: Disney - All Media Types, Haunted Mansion (Ride)
Genre: Atmospheric, Disney villains - Freeform, Gen, Ghosts, Halloween, POV First Person, Witchcraft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:07:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26957824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GAvillain/pseuds/GAvillain
Summary: "I pressed forward slowly to get a peak at what was causing the commotion, and though I came to find a real ghost, what I saw there was far more than I ever expected...."A young boy discovers exactly what sort of things happen outside of the Haunted Mansion at night. A short one-shot inspired by a dream I had as a child.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Come Out to Socialize

I wasn't completely sure what brought me there that October night. The old brick mansion towered against the night sky, its silhouette dark and imposing. The cool autumn air was crisp and caused me to clutch my hoodie for warmth whenever the wind would pick up to tussle the yellowing leaves. Local legend said that the mansion was haunted, and something inside of me always knew that to be true. Other kids would dare each other to go up to the mansion all the time to try to scare each other, but to me the ghosts were never just a joke. I loved Halloween and spooky stories, and I always wanted the chance to see a _real_ ghost.

I suppose curiosity was the main thing that drew me there that night, but whatever made me decide to _satisfy_ that curiosity is a mystery that I doubt I'll ever fully know. I walked down the cobblestone path towards the main entrance of the mansion. There was a wooden roof that covered the sidewalk towards the entrance to the mansion, making a breezeway to keep guests out of the hot sun in the summertime. Tonight, however, it simply obscured the moon and stars up above from my vision. To my left I could see the full moon reflected on the surface of the black lake, and its glow was somehow both comforting and eerie at the same time.

As I walked closer to the mansion's entrance, the path took a turn to the right, and now instead of the lake being to my left, a small private cemetery ran alongside the way towards the entrance. In the dark, I could barely make out what the tombstones said, but one, the largest, appeared to have a woman's head carved into it. I turned away from the tombstones, and summoned up all of my courage to try the door. I reached out for the handle, held my breath, and pulled against it to find...

... it was locked.

I let out a sigh that was both disappointed and relieved at the same time. It seemed that I wasn't meant to see whatever phantoms lived inside the mansion after all. Yet, before I could turn around to go back the way I'd came, I heard voices coming from beyond the cemetery. I looked around to see if anyone was watching me, and when I saw that the coast was clear, I flung myself over the fence to where the tombstones were. I wasn't normally very brave or adventurous, but something about tonight was pressing me forward.

I followed the sound of the voices by walking along the side of the mansion, in between the house and the woods behind it. It may have been a trick of the light, but as I passed them by, a few of the trees appeared to be watching me. And given what I was about to see, they probably were. There was a light up ahead and a clearing, and the voices were coming from it. So I pressed forward slowly to get a peak at what was causing the commotion, and though I came to find a real ghost, what I saw there was far more than I ever expected.

A large black cauldron was sitting over an open fire, bubbling and steaming an eerie shade of green that illuminated the figures standing around it. There were five of them gathered there that night, and I recognized them all right away. I'd never seen any of them in person before or even known them to be real, but they matched the vivid illustrations in my favorite storybook perfectly.

The first was a hunchbacked old crone cloaked in robes as black as night. Her withered hands and face were twisted into an expression of fiendish glee as she watched the pot boil. I knew right away that she was Grimhilde, the evil witch who cursed Snow White with a poison apple.

The second figure by the cauldron was the opposite of Grimhilde in every way. She was young and beautiful with luscious black hair. She wore a navy blue cloak and dress, and her golden nautilus shell necklace was glowing amber. Though she went by Vanessa in this form, I knew her better as Ursula the Sea Witch.

The third and tallest of the five was also the most frightening and striking of them. His face was grey and inhuman, and his black robes appeared to be billowing smoke. A fitting choice, after all, to match his hair, which was a blazing blue fire. He was Hades, the Lord of the Underworld.

The fourth figure, standing next to Hades, was decidedly more human in appearance, but I knew better than to underestimate him. He was dressed in fine robes of red and black, and he carried with him a staff with the head of a cobra that he could use to hypnotize his enemies. His twisted beard matched the twisted look in his eye. He may not have had Aladdin's wonderful lamp anymore, but Jafar was never one to give up.

The final of the five stood directly behind the cauldron and was the most imposing one of all. The other four villains were powerful, but she was the mightiest of them all. With her flowing black cloak, towering horned headdress, and pale green skin, she was elegant and intimidating enough. However, knowing that she could at any moment transform into a fearsome black dragon made her positively chilling. She was the one who cursed Sleeping Beauty: Maleficent, the Mistress of All Evil.

"Double, double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble," Maleficent chanted. "Sweltered venom sleeping got, boil the first in the charmed pot."

The villains continued to chant around the cauldron, but I began to step away. The villains had always been my favorite characters in their stories, but I knew better than to approach them. They were dangerous fellows, willing to destroy and spread evil on a whim, and there was a good chance they'd kill me for interfering. I slowly began to back away from the clearing and then turned to walk away. However, I didn't get very far before a cold hand clutched my shoulders.

I stopped dead in my tracks and slowly turned around to face Grimhilde. The old hag was smiling at me, but with her many missing teeth, her smile was distinctly terrifying. Yet I wasn't afraid. I knew that I should have been, but after reading her story so many times, I felt a sense of familiarity and kinship with her. She was once a beautiful queen, the fairest one of all, but now seeing what she'd been reduced to, I couldn't help but feel a touch of pity for her.

"Don't be afraid, dearie," Grimhilde said. "We've been waiting for you all night."

"For me?" I asked.

"Yes, my boy, yes," she nodded as she placed her gnarled hand on the small of my back and began to steer me back towards the cauldron. "Come with old granny, dearie. Join us by the cauldron for a spell."

And, strangely, I found that I really wanted to. My fears dissipated in her presence, almost as though she truly was the kindly grandmother figure that I knew she wasn't. Somehow I just knew deep inside of my heart that she wasn't going to hurt me. As we walked, I glanced up at the sky and gasped at what I saw. Wisps and wraiths were materializing in the air. Some were rising from the graveyard even now to begin their ghoulish socializing.

We returned to the bubbling cauldron where the other villains were waiting for us. All of their eyes were on me, but the only one I was looking at was Maleficent. She was impossible to look away from once you caught her eye, and she had a powerful magnetism to her like no person I'd ever met before. I wanted to say hello and introduce myself, but my voice would not come. After all, what does one even begin to say to the Mistress of All Evil?

Maleficent smiled, never looking away from me. "Thank you for joining us Evan, my pet."

"You... you know my name?" I managed to ask.

I realized right away that it was a foolish question to ask, and the villains simply laughed.

"Oh yes," Maleficent answered as her faithful raven landed on her shoulder. "We've been watching over you for a long time."

The raven nodded in agreement, and I had the distinct feeling that I'd seen that bird before, perched outside of my window. Maleficent then spread out her arms dramatically, allowing the flame like pattern of her sleeves to fan out.

"Now, listen well, all of you!" Maleficent beckoned. "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes. For a charm of powerful trouble, like a hell-broth boil and _bubble!_ "

The cauldron roared with energy, and ghostly manifestations began to swim out of the cauldron and into the sky to join their brethren. The foggy cauldron started to glow even brighter than before.

"What kind of brew are you making?" I ask as I peered into the brew.

I gasped loudly when I saw what was inside, for it was the most frightening sight of all.

Maleficent placed a hand on my shoulder. "Your _destiny_."


End file.
